Ophthalmic mounting



Jan. 27, 1942. F. T. BUSHELL OPHTHALMIC MOUNTING Filed April 13, 1940 Emu/713T Btu-shell,

Patented Jan. 27, 1942 OPHTHALMIC MOUNTING Frank T. Bushell, Chicago, 11]., assignor to Robert Malcom, Chicago, Ill.

Application April 13, 1940, Serial No. 329,556

5 Claims.

This invention relates to bridge members that connect eyecups or other lens holders of goggles or other ophthalmic mountings, and more particularly to means to adjust the length of those members to conform the holders to the eye spacing of a user.

The bridge member is elongated and flexible, and it has a series of enlargements. It may be a conventional ball chain, or it may be of other suitable form, affording abutments to cooperate with parts hereinafter described.

It is an object of the invention to provide means, for connecting a bridge member of this kind to one or both of the lens holders, so arranged that the member easily may be varied in length between the holders to adjust the latter to desired spacing.

Another object is to provide means that will retain the bridge member in association with a lens holder without liability of unintentional disconnection therefrom or change in adjustment.

Further, the invention provides a connecting means that permits a flexible bridge, of the kind referred to, to be shortened simply by pulling it past the holding part of the connection without loosening that part.

Other characteristics of the invention are apparent in the description and drawing.

The invention is exemplified herein in association with goggles, and for convenience and brevity the lens holders are referred to as eyecups, but it is to be understood that the disclosure and terms used are intended to denote also equivalent parts of any ophthalmic mounting to which the invention is applicable, and that it is not limited to mountings of the goggle type.

Like reference-characters refer to corresponding parts in the views of the drawing, of which Fig. 1 is a front View of a pair of goggles, some parts being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2, Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a. perspective view of the lock member;

Fig. 5 is a section similar to Fig. 3 illustrative of use of another form of bridge member.

Goggles, of a type shown for purpose of explanation, include conventional eyecups 6 with rigid side walls 1 shaped at their inner edges to conform to average facial contours adjacent to the eyes, and they have at their outer edges lenses 8 held thereagainst by interiorly threaded retaining rings 9 screwed onto the cups, which are exteriorly threaded on their outer. ends. The cups may have parts it for connection with a head band (not shown) as is common in the art.

In order to permit an elongated flexible bridge member to traverse in a wall of one or both of the eyecups for adjusting the length of the bridge connecting the cups, the side wall of one or both of the cups is perforated in its nasal side to provide a hole or passage I l circular in cross-section and large enough to permit abutment parts of the bridge to have longitudinal movement therein.

A groove or seat I2 is in that part of the outside of the eyecup wall that normally is covered by a retaining ring, and it is in alignment with the passage H, to accommodate a part hereinafter described.

A bridge member I3 for connecting two eyecups is elongated and flexible and has a series of abutments for cooperation with locking means of one or both cups. As shown by Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the bridge member is a so-called ball-chainthat is one having a series of balls l4 connected in spaced relation by parts l5. The bridge also may be a link chain 16, the links of which constitute abutments for cooperation with the locking means, as shown by Fig. 5.

The bridge member may be covered between the eyecups by a tube ll of rubber or other com paratively soft material as a cushion at the bridge of the nose.

Adjusting movement of the bridge member in the passage of an eyecup is controlled by a lock member l8, which has intersecting relation to the passage. The member preferably is of rather thin sheet metal cut and bent to shape and having sufiicient spring property for its purpose. It is formed with an approximately flat shank or a body'part [9, a head 20 extending laterally from one end of the shank at substantially right angle thereto, and a clip part 2| on the head spaced from and opposite and substantially parallel to the shank. The material of the lock member is bent at the other end of the shank toward the plane of the clip part as a tongue 22, there being formed at the juncture of the shank and tongue a rounded shoulder 23.

When the member i8 is in place, its clip part 2| seats and is housed in the groove l2 of the eyecup, and thus does not interfere with the on-andoff turning of the lens retaining ring; the head 20 overlaps and normally rests on the outer edge of the cup; the shank I9 is against the inner side of the cup; the tongue 22 is disposed in the passage II, and the shoulder 23 is at the inner end of the passage. The shank is of such length that, when the head 20 is in contact with the outer edge of the cup, the tongue 22 is spaced from the bore of the passage H The member l8 is held normally in this position when the retaining ring 9 is screwed home and holds the lens 8 tight against the head 20.

With the lock member in this normal position, the shoulder 23 at the inner end of the passage intersects the latter and is between abutments (balls or links) of the bridge member. Then the shoulder prevents outward movement of the bridge member and lengthening of the bridge. As the shoulder is quite close to the angle of the cup wall and passage bore, there is no liability of bending the shank, which is against the cup wall, even under extraordinary pull on the bridge member. There is positive and reliable lock against outward movement of the bridge member.

However, with the lock member in the normal position, the bridge may be shortened by pulling the bridge member inwardly, for the material of the lock member has sufii'cient spring property or give to permit the shoulder to move inwardly of the eyecupaway from the end of the passage-enough to let the abutments ride along the tongue and over and past the shoulder. The tongue facilitates approach of the abutments to the shoulder.

When it is desired to lengthen the bridge, the lens retaining ring is turned to relieve its pressure on the lens and pressure of the latter on the head of the lock member. It is not necessary to take the ring entirely off. If, however, the ring does com off, the tongue 22 prevents dislodg ment of the lock member. Then the bridge member is subjected to outward pull and the inclined surfaces of its abutments move the shoulder transversely of the passage in releasing direction enough to permit the abutments to pass it. As the tongue normally is spaced from the bore of the passage, the release shifting of the lock member when its head is relieved of pressure by the lens is not prevented by the tongue. Lengthening adjustment of the bridge having been made, the retaining ring is turned back tight, with the result that the lock shoulder again is extended between bridge abutments and the bridge again locked against outward movement. No tools are required to release and reset the bridge member.

As the bridge member can be moved inwardly of an eyecup while the lock member is in norlnal position, that member initially may be associated with the cups by pushing an end thereof from the outside through the passage and past the shoulder of the lock, and then it. may be grasped by the fingers and pulled in to the extent desired. As long as the lock is held tight by the retaining ring, there is no liability of the bridge member becoming disconnected.

Goggles having this invention embodied therein may be placed on sale with the bridge lengthened to the maximum or nearly so, the extent being limited by the length of the bridge member. Then it is easy for a purchaser to shorten the bridge to bring the eyecups to the spaced relation he requires simply by pulling the bridge member inwardly of one or both eyecups. That adjustment once having been made for one person, it usually is unnecessary for him thereafter to loosen a lens to permit lengthening of the bridge.

The lock controlling adjustment of the bridge may be associated with both eyecups; or it may be associated with only one of them, in which case the bridge member is fixed to the other cup in any suitable manner, as shown, for example, on one of the cups of Fig. l.

I claim:

1. In an ophthalmic mounting, an eyecup having a wall perforated by a passage, a flexible bridge member having a series of abutments movable longitudinally in said passage, and a lock member including a shank slidable longitudinally on the inner surface of said Wall, a head at one end of said shank lapping an edge of said wall, releasable means normally holding said head against said edge and the other end of said shank in locking disposition between abutments of said bridge member, and a tongue extending from said shank into said passage, said lock member being releasably slidable with respect to said bridge member on loosening of said holding means and said tongue then retaining said lock member on said eyecup.

2. In an ophthalmic mounting, an eyecup hav ing a wall perforated by a passage, a flexible bridge member having a series of abutments movable longitudinally in said passage, a threaded ring turnable onto the outer end of said cup, a lens normally held to the outer edge of said cup by said ring, and a lock member including a shank slidable longitudinally on the inner surface of said Wall, a head at one end of said shank disposed between the outer edge of said cup and said lens, a shoulder on the other end of said shank normally in locking disposition between abutments of said bridge member, and a tongue extending from said shoulder into said passage, said lock member being releasably slidable with respect to said bridge member by action of abutments on said tongue and shoulder during movement of said bridge member in said passage when said ring is loosened and said tongue then retaining said lock member on said eyecup.

3. In an ophthalmic mounting, an eyecup hav ing a wall perforated by a passage, a flexible bridge member having a series of spaced abutments movable longitudinally in said passage, a lock shank of sheet material having spring prop erty normally against the inner side of said wall, a rounded shoulder on an end of said shank normally between abutments of said bridge member, a tongue extending from said shoulder into said passage, and loosenable means normally preventing sliding movement of said shank, said shank when in normal position being springable away from said wall to permit traverse in one direction of bridge abutments on said tongue and past said shoulder and being also releasably slidable from said bridge member when its holding means is loosened.

4. In an ophthalmic mounting, an eyecup having a wall perforated by a passage, a flexible bridge member having a series of spaced abutments movable longitudinally in said passage, a lens on the outer edge of said eyecup, loosenable means normally holding said lens in place, and a lock member of sheet material having spring property bent to afford a shank normally against the inner side of and springable away from said wall, a head at one end of said shank disposed between said lens and outer edge of said eyecup, a tongue extending laterally from the other end of said shank into said passage, and a rounded shoulder at the juncture of said shank and tongue normally having lock disposition between abutments of said bridge member when said lens is in normal position, said shank when in normal position being springable away from said wall by action of bridge abutments moving in one direction on its adjacent end and said lock member also being releasably slidable when said lens holding means is loosened.

5. In an ophthalmic mounting, an eyecup having a wall perforated by a passage, a. flexible bridge member having a series of spaced abutments movable longitudinally in said passage, a lens on the outer edge of said eyecup, loosenable means normally holding said lens in place, and a lock member of sheet material having spring property bent to afford a shank normally against the inner side of and springable away from said wall and a head at one end of the shank disposed between said lens and the outer edge of said cup, the other end of said shank normally having lock disposition between abutment-s of said bridge member, said shank when in normal position being springable away from said wall by action of bridge abutments moving in one direction and said lock member also being releasably slidable when said lens holding means is loosened.

FRANK T. BUSHELL. 

